Apple Pay Now Available in Ukraine

Apple Pay is slowly making its way to more markets, with Ukraine being the latest addition. The revelation doesn’t come with official word from Apple, but from users in Ukraine who found that they could add MasterCard or Visa credit cards on Apple Pay.

As of now, however, the service only supports PrivatBank accounts in Ukraine, although Oschadbank will soon receive support for Apple Pay as well. Ukraine’s Finance Minister, Oleksandr Danyliuk shared the good news on Facebook.

Earlier this month, Tim Cook mentioned during an earnings call that Apple would bring Apple Pay to Norway, Poland, and Ukraine in the coming months. Customers in Ukraine should be able to add their credit cards as long as PrivatBank issues it.

Apple Pay is currently available in a handful of countries including Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, UAE, and Brazil.

Our Take

Apple Pay is slowly expanding into new territories with a vast majority of the European regions now covered. However, Apple will want to tap into the Asian market, especially in places where Samsung Pay is more popular. While Samsung’s offering allows users to use their payment service at practically any card terminal, Apple’s tech relies on NFC scanning. This perhaps has gotten in the way of Apple reaching full dominance in the online payments industry.